The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Delphinium plant botanically known as Delphinium hybrid and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Red Lark’.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in Enkhuizen, The Netherlands during August 2007. The objective of the breeding program was the development of Delphinium having a novel flower color and a compact growth habit.
The new Delphinium cultivar is the result of cross-pollination. The female (seed) parent of the new cultivar is the proprietary Delphinium hybrid breeding selection coded E112-1, not patented, characterized by its semi-double type, light red-colored flowers, medium green-colored foliage, and upright growth habit. The male (pollen) parent of the new cultivar is the proprietary Delphinium hybrid breeding selection coded E078-1, not patented, characterized by its semi-double type, salmon-red colored flowers, medium green-colored foliage, and upright-compact growth habit. The new cultivar was discovered and selected as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated cross-pollination during August 2008 in a controlled environment in Venhuizen, The Netherlands.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by in vitro propagation since October 2009 in West Chicago, Ill. has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all of the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.